Quoting Mark McDonald <tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> "irrelevent." I would also say that the way you drive is a major
> factor, too. I tend to be very easy on my cars. I don't take railroad
> tracks at speed, corner hard, etc.
One of the things we can do to prolong the life of our steering mechanism is to
avoid turning the wheel while the car is standing still. I know, it is very
tempting given how easy it is to turn the wheel, and the difficulty of
manuvering a car of the size of an Imperial. However, all the steering forces
are much higher if the car is at a standstill. Even a small forward or
backward motion while turning the wheel will really decrease the steering
forces.
One other thing that can damage the steering linkage fast is uneven brakes. A
few years back, my 68 sedan had a bad flexible hose. I did not suspect it
because it was new (it was too short though, in retrospect...). That made
braking a real tricky deal, since I had to correct every time I applied and
released the brakes. After I found the problem and fixed it, I realized that
my brand new idler arm was worn, again. I also replaced rod ends.
D^2, 2x68s
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